Friday, March 7, 2014

Spaghetti squash and bacon casserole

Spaghetti squash... I can't believe there used to be a time in my life when I didn't really care for you. Now, you are all over my blog with tons of recipes (almost always involving cheese). Now, I'm a little sad to see that there are only two of you left in the basement. We've eaten our way through so many of you this winter and past fall. This may be one of my favorite ways yet...

This recipe was inspired by a recent post on The Kitchn; however, I changed it up quite a lot. I used the world's most amazing bacon from the half pig when purchased this year. Seriously, this is the smokiest, most delicious bacon I've ever had. I also used a couple of farm fresh eggs. This is a dish that could really be served at any meal. We had it for dinner with a side of broccoli, but I think it would be great for lunch or brunch as well because of the eggs and bacon in it. It would be a complete meal with a simple salad. This recipe will make about 4 main dish servings.

I've been slacking a little bit lately on posts... not because I haven't been cooking, but I haven't been making a lot of new stuff and sometimes even when I do, I just haven't been in the mood to take photos of it... But, I have some new things coming up that I'm excited to try, so hopefully I'll be posting more frequently again very soon!

Spaghetti squash and bacon casserole1 spaghetti squash (about 2 to 2-1/2 lbs.)sea salt and freshly ground black pepper5 slices of bacon1 small-medium yellow onion, diced2 cloves garlic, minced1/4 teaspoon dried thyme2 large eggs 1/2 cup whole milk or half and half1 tablespoon cornstarch1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheeseparsley or extra dried thyme, for garnish, optionalPreheat the oven to 350 degrees. Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place on a baking sheet cut side up and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake until you can pierce it with a fork, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. Turn up the oven to 400 degrees. In the meantime, cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. When crisp, set aside on a paper towel. Drain the bacon grease from the pan, leaving about 1 teaspoon. Cook the onion in the bacon grease over medium heat until it becomes translucent. Stir in the garlic, a pinch of salt, and a couple grinds of black pepper, and thyme and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Then whisk in the milk/half and half and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir in the 1/3 cup Parmesan. Use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti squash and add it to the bowl. If a lot of water has collected in the squash, drain it off first. Stir well to combine. Dice the cooked bacon and stir it into the mixture along with the onion and garlic mixture.Use the paper towel from draining the bacon to grease a baking dish (I used an 8-inch round). Then pour the mixture in and spread it evenly. Top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan.Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the casserole is slightly puffed and golden. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then serve topped with parsley or additional thyme, if desired.